


For Scent-imental Reasons

by overworkedunderwhelmed



Series: Drabbles Gone Rogue [20]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Identity Reveal, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-05 15:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15174143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overworkedunderwhelmed/pseuds/overworkedunderwhelmed
Summary: It only took a few years of getting to know his Lady well, but finally Adrien Agreste has a foolproof plan of attraction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A tip of the hat to the old Looney Tunes short by the same name, because I can't help but love the pun. Not following that plot, though. :D
> 
> And also because Enberlight put this in my head, you can thank/blame her for this WIP. (Not the only one I came up with tonight, though...)

Adrien Agreste walked up to the counter, smiling serenely as he laid his purchase on the counter.

The florist blanched. He was just a college student, working here in this sleepy little flower shop part time to bring in a little extra cash on the weekends. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for whatever romantic foibles were about to occur if one of the biggest teen heartthrobs in the city walked away with a flower with only the murkiest of meanings.

Of course, his manager was busy, taking an overly long break. 

His fingers paused over the register. “Are you sure that’s what you’d like to buy?”

The blonde beamed. “I did my homework.”

“Huh.” The florist arched a brow. “Then you know about the weird flower meaning? I don’t put much stock in all of that myself. But some of my customers are quite adamant.”

“It won’t be a problem,” Adrien grinned. “I’ve been puzzling this out for while now how best to capture this girl’s attention.”

Coughing sharply, the florist’s other brow rose sharply, matching the pair. If an actual model was struggling to capture a girl’s heart, there _really_ might not be much hope for the rest of them. “And she hasn’t been persuaded by roses, or anything else more conventional?”

“You would think so, but no.” The boy snorted loudly. “But I’ve been learning about her...little by little. And I think this might just capture the fair lady's heart.”

The florist shook his head, finally ringing up the purchase. “She’s something special, this girl?”

Adrien practically beamed at that. “Can you keep a secret?” 

Blinking, the florist nodded, leaning in conspiratorially as he handed the boy his change and his purchase. “Sure.”

But Adrien Agreste just winked, taking the potted plant and the coins. “So can I.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As my LadyNoir July entry has quite a bit of angst in the mix, I needed to make some fluff on balance. And since I'm also an actual disaster (TM), I actually already have most of this plotted out.
> 
> Enjoy!

Proudly, Adrien strode out of the shop, tiny scarlet and black petals shaking slightly with his every step.

He was so used to destruction on the other side of the mask that guarding such a tiny, fragile thing would prove a special sort of challenge.

But it all would be worth it in the end. At least, he was pretty sure.

Plagg always was vague about any sort of details,especially when it came to something that Ladybug might like. So he was definitely on his own for this sort of thing.

His impressively tall guardian made no mention of his purchase, though he did raise an equally impressive brow in question at the sight of the tiny plant in his hands before he opened the car door.

* * *

Tablet in hand, Nathalie stood at the door, awaiting his return, no doubt about to run down his schedule for the next day or so.

“Sorry,” He grinned, school bag precariously balanced on his shoulder as he ducked in through the door and darted up the staircase. “I’ll be back down for dinner in five minutes, okay? Less if I can.” 

Guarding it fiercely, Adrien was determined to head straight up to his room, intent on giving the plant a bit of water and as much light as it could handle.

If he had looked back he would noticed that Nathalie’s jaw dropped, ruining her usually nonplussed expression. It took a minute for her to compose herself, as the tall guard entered the house himself, meeting her shocked expression with a sympathetic shrug.

* * *

Once in the safety of his room, Plagg scrambled out of his bag. 

“Ugh.” He grumbled, half-gasping for air. “I couldn’t stand being stuck in there for another step.”

Adrien snorted, placing the pot over on the windowsill. “Luckily, you don’t have to.”

The kwami’s nose scrunched up in distaste. “Yeah, but I have to smell that nonsense.”

Narrowing his eyes, Adrien glared as he strode over the bathroom. “You were the one who told me about this in the first place.”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but I didn’t expect you were going to run out and buy one right away?”

Blinking, Adrien halted in place, peering back at him. “Didn’t you?” 

“Well, since you put it like that...” Plagg snorted. “But that’s beside the point.”

“Then what is your point?”

“That it _smells_.”

Adrien sighed, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling in a way that would make his Lady proud.

Plagg looked affronted. “Scoff if you must, but we’ll see just how much you disagree when you put the suit on.”

Adrien smiled more softly this time, a bit more sympathetic as he moved his Kwami’s trash can far closer to the Camembert fridge. He knew just how strong those scents could be with Plagg’s powers in the mix. “Tell you what. I can at least keep it as far away from your trash can as I can. At least until it has grown enough to give to Ladybug.”

Plagg stopped his grumbling -- at least long enough to fill his belly.

“Besides, we only need to wait for a day or two for the petals to open up, right?”


	3. Chapter 3

Daylight pierced through the tall windows of his room, never letting him linger under the covers, even on an otherwise lazy Saturday morning. Tugging of his covers, Adrien jumped out of bed and made a beeline for the window, as had been his ritual for the past few days.

It appeared his persistence had finally paid off.

The blossoms had _finally_ opened. 

His fingernails tapped the windowsill, as he pondered his next steps. 

Adrien had enough in his life to feel confident about. His grades were good; too many years of homeschooling had prepared him too well to be anything but. His looks were good enough that he knew if he ever was in doubt, he just had to look out on the city as he was racing the rooftops and see his own face staring back at him.

When he had been anxious about his big romantic reveal, Plagg had just snickered and scoffed.

Adrien frowned, pacing in front of the line of windows. But somehow, when it came to Ladybug, it seemed like he was entirely out of his element. Even as kind and as charming as he had been taught to be without the mask, he just couldn’t win her over with all the charm he could possibly muster.

He had placed all his hopes and feelings -- as well as his heart -- in one basket. Only to have the lot of them dashed.

At least he hadn’t been entirely alone after she didn’t show up at all. It was nice just to have a friend at his side, even if she didn’t know how close as friends they both actually were.

That was part of the reason why he knew he was lucky enough to still have Ladybug’s friendship once all the dust had settled. 

It certainly wasn’t Ladybug’s fault he hadn’t told her how he felt earlier. It wasn’t her fault that she had developed feelings for some other guy, either. At least she trusted him enough to be honest with him.

Now Hawkmoth, on the other hand… Adrien scowled, leaning back against the glass as he stared back into his room. Hawkmoth had definitely gotten in the way, insistent on only the worst sort of timing. He probably enjoyed it, too, villainous as he was.

He sighed, pushing himself back towards the bathroom to get showered and dressed for the day. For once, there was no modelling, so he actually had a few free hours to himself before anyone would miss him.

* * *

The ends of his hair were still wet as he had raced through breakfast, sneaking an extra bit of cheese for Plagg. He wanted nothing more than to get out into the city as soon as possible and find Ladybug.

He had a whole life -- one Ladybug definitely didn’t know about -- outside of these suits; it only made sense that she actually did too. 

If only they didn’t have to keep their identities secret just to keep everyone they knew and loved safe, then maybe he would actually stand a better chance.

He was always having to dodge clamoring fans himself, so he could understand how his unwanted feelings might be a little awkward for her. Ladybug was important enough to him that he wanted her to be sure she felt safe enough around him.

But it didn’t mean those furtive hopes and dreams had stopped entirely.

In all the months since then, she hadn’t said a single word about that guy. She hadn’t ducked out of a patrol for anything -- not even homework. She hadn’t seemed deliriously happy. Nor did she seem to be lovesick and mooning over this boy. 

And he would know. He had been watching with bated breath, not entirely sure what outcome he was hoping for. He wanted her to be _happy_. But there was still a part of him that held out a little selfish hope that she might be happy with him.

Ladybug was unfailingly on her game when it came to their time in the masks, alternatively pulling farther away than usual -- and occasionally -- sneaking in much closer than her usual habit. 

Of course, she did banter back and forth with him. And his tail always whipped back and forth a bit faster when she snuck in a little pun here or there with that satisfied little smirk on her face.

The wait and her easy kindness was wreaking havoc on his heart.

Enough so that the oddest thought had occurred to him when Plagg had reminded him that Ladybug had a Kwami of her own.

Of _course_ she did; he knew his own powers depended upon Plagg. Her kwami probably even gave her good advice from time to time.

“And she listens to her Kwami?” Adrien had mused.

“Probably far better than you.” Plagg had chided, between noisy bites of Camembert. 

Adrien shook his head at the memory of his epiphany, calling out for Plagg to enter the ring.

The transformation flowed over him like the water that had just fallen down his back. 

The solution had been so simple, right in front of his eyes all along. If he had trouble reaching the girl behind the mask, all he needed to do was to persuade the Kwami behind the magic that he was worthy of both of their trust.

Plagg was easy. All anyone would need to do is ply him with Camembert and Plagg would be on their side forever.

From there, all it had taken was a little bit of homework of his own, using the internet to try to puzzle out what a ladybug might like. 

Chuckling softly, Chat grinned, carefully breaking one of the flower stems and tucking the spotted red petals ever-so-gently into his pocket.

Had had known then what he did now, he might have started with this instead of with the rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having a bit of IRL issues right now, so I am much farther behind that I hoped to be with both this and my LadyNoir July piece. Hopefully over the next few days, I'll have a better idea of what I am working with, and get back to closer to on plan.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Enberlight for beta reading...and putting up with my wonky tenses. :P

As he vaulted over the sun-warmed rooftops, Chat Noir grinned. The chill of the night was slowly being chased away beneath his boots.

But he didn’t dare to dawdle.

Not with the flower he’d been fostering for the whole of the past week burning a hole in his pocket.

The fragile bloom had been tucked into his pocket where it would be as safe as he could manage until he figured out the best way to try to sneak it to Ladybug's Kwami without her knowledge.

Maybe he could oh-so-carefully slip it into her hair ribbons as he chased at her heels across the city.

Who knows what else might last outside of her transformation?

Outside of her earrings. But she had to be as touchy about anyone getting near those as he was about anyone fussing with his ring.

Chat dropped down onto the rooftop at the Trocadéro, re-settling his baton to vault towards the Tower. At least he still had a bit of time to figure that all out.

They had a daylight patrol today to watch out for any massive damage potential among the throng of weekend tourists that flooded into the city while school was out for the weekend. More people just meant more potential victims -- akumatized or otherwise -- so it was easier on them both to get ahead of Hawkmoth there.

He couldn’t always go on these patrols, as his Father had a nasty habit of scheduling weekend photoshoots, but when he could, he made a point to show up early to spend every spare minute with his Lady. 

And with his luck, he was bound to need it.

* * *

Gritting his teeth, Chat Noir spun his baton, warding off the round of bon-bon bombs that had followed the Akuma’s massive knockback attack.

Normally, he’d be happy enough to be offered a chocolate. But these chocolates were bigger than the dodgeballs they’d been tossing around during gym classes. They were a little too much, and a little too fast to handle.

This was supposed to have been a quiet day. Of course, he hadn’t planned on a patrol turned battle.

But that was his luck after all.

It was almost as if Hawkmoth knew that he had plans for Ladybug, and had decided to make sure he would get in his way, making his Akuma more and more dangerous than the one that came before…

And it just had to be a kid he’d transformed again. They were a little more single-minded, a little more ruthless in how they wanted to get what they wanted -- whatever it might take, with much less regard for what might be considered right or wrong.

His eyes roved the ground below the Tower. The crowds had already run off, but if the candy cannonballs weren't flying at him, that could only mean he had changed targets.

Chat flinched, his gaze pinpointing the Akuma’s less-than-stealthy approach before Ladybug did. She had the Lucky Charm already out and active, seeking some means to apply it. But she hadn’t seemed to notice that she was still soundly in the knock-back zone, or she surely would have moved first. 

He was up on his feet, bounding down to her before he could second guess it. This was all instinct and second nature. 

His first thought was to tackle her and roll, but that would leave them both in the strike zone and vulnerable until he could make sure they were both back on their feet.

Instead, with an extra push against the steel girders, he vaulted down, rebounding with his staff until she was just in reach.

Chat Noir swooped Ladybug up into his arms, and she curled in against him. Beaming as she did, he _cat_ apulted them both back up into the upper levels. 

From here, she could still have her eyes on the area to set her plan into motion. And he could move them both to safety or aid on defense until she was ready to move.

When he landed upon a much safer platform, Chat Noir set her down.

Well, it was far more accurate to say he _tried_. He blinked down at Ladybug, her continued grip on him unexpected. Not when she was the one who usually didn’t hesitate to push him away.

And yet, as he slipped his claws down carefully, bracing her arms to push her back a few inches, she only burrowed back in, nuzzling her nose against his chest.

“C’mon, M’Lady.” He whined, spotting the Akuma jumping up the curved beams at the base of the Tower, and making a solid effort to put them back in the blast zone. “Now is not the best time to be such a _cuddle bug_.”

**Author's Note:**

> This should be a drabble short series.
> 
> Should be...


End file.
